An analysis of virtual teams working in higher education online programme management projects in South Africa
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Date
2019
Authors
Musgrave, Sarah
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
Virtual teams (VTs) achieve shared goals despite not being co
located, by relying on electronic communicati on media. The use of VTs trans pires into higher education
(HE), allowing them to participate and compete in an ever changing world. In this
study, the focus is on VTs that work on higher education projects in partnership with
an online programme management (OPM) company in South Africa (SA). It provides
the opportunity to study VTs not only in a single organisation, but between different
organisations and at different levels between organisations. The study aims to
investigate VTs, in particular the advanta ges, challenges and success fa ctors that
contribute towards the performance of VTs. The study was an explorative qualitative
case study, making use of nine semi structured interviews followed by a thematic
analysis of the data. The experience and opinions of participants in this study were,
in general, not surprising, and aligned with those documented in previous research
studies. The participants did, however, confirm that VTs in combination with working
virtually across two different organisations (Higher Ed Partners SA and HE
institu tions) present unique challenges and advantages. The interviewees shared
challenges that all VTs face, e.g. the absence of face to face contact, challenges
caused by technology due to bandwidth issues and unstable internet con nections,
and barriers to comm unication and the building of trust. However, circumstances
beyond their control such as load shedding and on campus student riots added to a
more complex work environment. The participants did, despite the challenges,
indicat e that these challenges are no t insurmountable and that they would prefer to
continue working as VTs due to the advantages offered.
Description
Dissertation (MBA (Business Administration))--University of the Free State, 2019
Keywords
Teams, virtual teams, advantages, challenges, success criteria, qualitative study, semi-structured interviews, thematic analysis, OPM, higher education, South Africa